Face seal assemblies are used near relative rotating components of tracked machines, such as track roller assemblies, idler assemblies, final drive assemblies, etc. These face seal assemblies are used retain lubricant and prevent foreign matter from reaching the rotating bearings of the relative rotating components.
Face seal assemblies usually include a pair of contacting seal rings formed of metal or other durable, hard material. The seal rings rotate relative to one another in face-to-face contact to provide a positive face seal. One of the seal rings is considered a dynamic seal ring and is associated with the relatively rotating portion of the rotating component (i.e., the portion of the rotating component that rotates relative to a stationary portion). The other seal ring is considered a stationary seal ring and is associated with relatively stationary portion of the rotating component (i.e., the portion of the rotating component relative to which the rotating component rotates). Each of the seal rings may be axially-movable relative to its associated portion of the rotating component. A resilient load ring is positioned on an angled portion of each seal ring to provide a force to bias seal rings toward each other to maintain constant sealing engagement.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,969 to Hoefft is directed to a metal-to-metal face seal assembly having a static seal ring secured to a rotating element, such as a track roller of a tracked machine. The static seal ring has a seal face, and a dynamic seal ring has a seal face in sealing engagement with the seal face of the static ring. The dynamic seal ring has a ramp thereon extending at 8 degrees relative to horizontal in a direction away from the seal face thereof. The face seal assembly further includes a seal housing, which may be the end collar of the track roller, having an annular ramp formed thereon confronting the ramp of the dynamic seal ring, which seal housing ramp extends at 10 degrees relative to horizontal. The ramps converge in a direction away from a seal plane defined by the mutually-engaging faces of the seal rings. A load ring disposed between the ramps is pre-compressed to its maximum strain level to provide the desired face loads on the seal faces.
The present disclosure is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discovered by the inventors or that is known in the art.